


Office Visits

by G_the_G



Series: Avengers University [18]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Awesome Jane Foster, Awesome Natasha Romanov, Beardy Art Professor Steve Rogers, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grad Student Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster is a Good Bro, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-07 23:06:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14091693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/G_the_G/pseuds/G_the_G
Summary: The semester is over and Darcy pays Steve a Visit





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A visual reference:  
> 

It was all because of that stupid, stupid henley. It just had to go and set off his eyes just right and hang off his shoulders and muscles just right, the top three buttons undone and letting his tattoo play a sort of peak-a-boo during the final lecture. Darcy sighed and softened her steps as she made her way back to the arts building. If she wasn’t lying to herself, she’d been trying to find excuses to not act on anything all day, all week, all semester. But he’d just been his usual smiling self, sending her flirty grins with every terrible pun in the last lecture, even following up with a text after class, and she just had to do something about it. But she was gonna blame the henley because she could.

Thankfully, once she got inside she found the halls were pretty empty, most everyone off probably studying or preparing some kind of final showcase for the semester. And she couldn’t help but see it as less witnesses. It wasn’t like what she was doing was bad. Not at all; but there was still a lingering feeling of guilt that there she was, off to finally try and put the moves on her professor. Well, in a manner of speaking.

Making her way to the far wing where Steve’s office was located, she mumbled to herself, the words becoming a sort of mantra.

“You’re not gonna be awkward, you’re not gonna be weird, you’re not gonna freak out. You’ve talked to him, you know him, you can hold a normal conversation. If this conversation happens to include the offer of a date, so what, you can do this.” Her muttering cut off when she reached the end of the hallway and was a couple offices away.

The different professors had covered their narrow windows to varying degrees, some just a few posts, others from floor to ceiling. They were no doubt trying to afford some more privacy and avoid a fishbowl experience with undergrads peering in from outside. Some had fabric and textiles, others pages cut from textbooks, others handmade paintings and art. As she got closer, she could see that Steve’s window was covered top to bottom in WW2 propaganda art. He really was a nerd. A nerd she was very, _very_ into.

His door was open, and he was focused on his computer, so she knocked lightly. “Hey.”

He looked up quickly, his grin spreading when he saw it was her. “Darcy, hey!” He pushed back from his desk, half standing and quickly looking around his office before focusing back on her. “Uh, come in.”

“You sure you’re not busy?” she asked, gesturing to the stacks of papers and screen he’d just turned away from.

“No, no, not at all. I just don’t usually get many in here for the last office hours. Come on in. Just close the door; my office neighbor Sharon gets upset at the noise.”

Closing the door softly, she stepped forward with a brow raised. “You throwing wild parties in your office or something?”

Steve sank back in his chair with a shrug, waving at the chair across his desk as an invitation for her to sit down. “You know me. Wild artist, living up to the hype, embracing the hedonistic lifestyle.”

Darcy chuckled as she sat, but the instant she settled fully in the chair, her mind began to go full speed. What to talk about, how to transition to the whole possible date conversation, and just how to not embarrass herself. She opened her mouth to say something, hoping it would be intelligible and not along the lines of “all I’ve been able to think about all semester is running my hands through your beard, wrapping myself around you, and making out” but the phone suddenly rang, saving her as they both glanced to it.

“Shit,” Steve said under his breath when he read the caller ID. He reached towards it, but didn't pick it up as he shot her an apologetic smile. “I gotta take this, but it shouldn’t be long, don’t go anywhere.”

He still didn't answer it, waiting for some kind of response, so she nodded and he finally picked up the receiver.

“Maria, hi. I was just about to e-mail you.”

His conversation seemed to be about submitting grades and final exam scheduling, so Darcy looked around the small office to distract herself. There were picture pinned to the wall around his desk, and she recognized some of his friends that she’d met. Scattered about were student papers, doodles around the edges, possibly from him, possibly from students, she wasn’t sure. There were also a couple of frisbee-shaped trophies up on the bookshelves lining one wall. Noticing the decent amount of books he had, she got up to look at the titles and try to be less awkward while waiting.

As she moved, he turned and smiled again, holding up a finger, asking her to wait once again. She couldn’t avoid biting her lip as she nodded. He didn’t seem to want her to go. And she was taking that as a good sign. A couple minutes later, he wrapped up his phone call, right as she found the art puns chapter in the joke book she’d pulled off the shelf.

“I'm disappointed you didn't come up with any of these yourself.”

He noticed what book she was holding and laughed. “I would like to say that I haven’t read that in years, so I had to have come up with some on my own, but I can’t guarantee they didn’t stick from when I read it the first time.”

Chuckling, she turned to put it back, her eye catching on a figurine on the top shelf.

“Is that Persephone and Hades?” She reaches up to grab it, but her fingertips only graze the base, pushing it farther back on the shelf.

“Here, let me help.”

Darcy was too busy on her tippy toes, struggling to reach the small statue to hear him. But she suddenly became aware of him, standing close, very close, directly behind her as he reached over her head to grab it. She sank back down, with a gasp. There was enough space for her to turn, her but her shoulder brushed against his chest as she did so. His eyes shot down to her face, and his lips parted, as though surprised at just how close they were.

She could feel his quick exhale skitter over the hair at her temple and tilted her face back, staring at him as he rapidly blinked. He didn’t say anything, only closed his mouth and swallowed, arm still upright to grab the statue. But then his pupils dilated, blowing out to nearly blot out the blue, as he licked his lips.

That was all it took. Darcy surged back onto her toes, pressing her lips against his. Steve stilled, not kissing back, but also not pulling away. After what felt like forever but was probably only a second or two, she pulled back. Staring at his face. Her brain was just catching up, and she was sure she must have made a terrible misstep, must have misread everything.

But then, his head sank down as he captured her lips once again using his free hand to wrap gently around the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her hair as his other hand came to her hip. He lowered his other hand but because he was still holding the statue, he used his arm to pull her closer, bringing her flush with his body. That was all it took. Darcy’s lips parted on another gasp, and he deepened the kiss. Something she was all for as she fisted her hands in the front of his shirt.

Before she knew what happened, he suddenly pulled back. She followed his lips at first, craving more of him, but he leaned back, pulling his hands away to rest them on the shelves behind her, and she realized the kiss was over. When she opened her eyes, Steve had taken a step back and stood there, eyes closed in a grimace, breath coming fast. She slowly let go of his shirt, purposely not smoothing the fabric she’d stretched and crumpled in her fists.

“Uh, Steve?”

“This was a bad idea.” His voice was rough, and he cleared his throat, finally opening his eyes as his brows came down and stared at her. And despite the fact that he was the one still caging her in against the bookcase, he looked trapped, eyes darting around her, almost refusing to look at her face.

“Because I was very recently your student or in general?”

He shook his head, not answering her question, only muttering as he finally settled on looking down on the ground as he hung his head. “This was a mistake. A momentary lapse in judgment.”

Darcy’s chin snapped up, but she didn't say anything, waiting in silence for the explanation that didn't come. “Just a momentary thing? Really? Because I kind of felt like it's been building all semester.”

They stayed like that for a few awkwardly long moments as she willed him to talk and become the same goofy guy she'd known and flirted with all semester. To tell her just what the hell had happened between the moment when he'd actually been kissing her back and when he pulled away. Because she knew there was no way in hell he hadn't been as involved as she had. It had been a damn good kiss with all their pent up back and forth. Or at least that's what she had thought.

But he didn’t say anything, just furrowed his brows some more as he sighed, still refusing to look at her. 

Anger building more than any embarrassment, she pushed her back off the bookcase, forcing his arm to make way for her as she shouldered past him to grab her bag. She didn’t pause, didn’t turn, didn’t look back as she opened the door and left.


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha’s heels were a sharp staccato as she walked down the hall of the science building. It was perfect timing that two of her favorite pet projects would hopefully come together so very well after this meeting. She did love efficiency.

She didn't bother straightening her suit or gathering herself before entering the lab. The suit was impeccably tailored and only became mussed after her lunch dates with her husband turned into private sessions in his office. And while she didn't know how this conversation would go, it had been a very long time since her powers of persuasion (or manipulation and brainwashing as some of her friends chose to describe it) had not come to her aid. So with a firm pull on the door, she stepped in, looking for her target.

After a moment of scanning the room, a clanking from inside a machine on the far wall caught her attention.

“Dr. Foster?”

There was shuffling and a couple muttered curses, but soon the woman’s head popped up as she blew several strands of hair from her face. 

“Yes?”

“Natasha Romanova. I work in the Business and Economics department,” she smiled stepping forward to hold her hand out as she maintained eye contact.

“Jane,” she responded as she returned the handshake. “What brings you over to depths of the science lair?”

Natasha let out a small huff, making her amusement obvious. Not everyone recognized the subtleties, and with this delicate situation, any eased social graces could work to her benefit. “I have a project I’m working on and thought you’d be interested in joining.”

Jane tilted her head in consideration and nodded her head to an open doorway. “Let’s talk in the office then.” She turned to lead the way, but then suddenly looked down as her stomach let out a loud growl. “And I’m pretty sure my forgotten lunch is there as well.”

They shared a chuckle and headed through, Jane settling at her desk and immediately tucking into her lunch, while Natasha sat across the desk in one of the mismatching chairs across from her. 

“I’d offer you some, but I’ve never been very good with sharing,” Jane said with an apologetic shrug.

Natasha shook her head, “That’s fine, I actually ate my lunch earlier at my usual time.”

“Routines. Bah! What are those for?” After Jane snorted at her own joke and got a responding smile, she continued. “So, project?”

Inwardly Natasha put another column in the benefits of working with Dr. Foster. She’d always hated the mundane pleasantries so many insisted upon. “I want to start an annual academic conference for women that reaches across the different fields and includes at least ten universities in the first year.”

“That sounds amazing and like a lot of work,” Jane said before taking another bite and thinking. “I’m in. What do you have planned?”

Adding yet another tick in her favor, Natasha leaned forward to lay out the details, not able to hold back a genuine smile.

Ten minutes, a couple of hastily scribbled notes, one finished lunch, and a few shared laughs later, Jane sat back with a happy sigh. 

“Right. Now that I’ve eaten and we’ve got that covered, let’s talk about why you’re really here.”

Suspecting that Dr. Foster was well on her way to surpassing ticks in boxes and becoming something more like a friend, Natasha raised a brow. “What do mean?”

Jane snorted. “There are far more powerful administrators and professors to try and develop this project with than me. I last saw you at the symposium for Thor that I hadn’t expected anyone but us science types to attend and since I saw you interacting most interestingly with both Darcy and Lumberjack McArterson there, I figure it has something to do with that. Or least I’m hoping it is.”

“Hoping?”

“Yeah. It’s stupidly obvious they are both into it. And I know yesterday was the last day of lecture, but I haven’t heard from Darcy yet, so I don’t know if anything happened.”

“That’s disappointing,” Natasha said tapping on the desk. “ _ I _ was hoping you would have hard something more since Steve is always so reticent because of my previous matchmaking efforts.”

“Oh, I don’t usually get so invested. I just haven’t seen Darcy this into someone since I’ve known her. And she seems genuinely happy and was really supportive of me and Thor, so I wanted to return the favor.”

She nodded. “I’ve seen the same with Steve. He’s a lot freer than I’ve seen him in a couple years. And despite the fact that he hates when I meddle, I want to make sure he doesn’t mess this up. Men can be such idiots at times.”

“Truth!” Jane agreed heartily and then sat up eagerly. “But we’re gonna meddle right?” 

“Of course,” Natasha said with devious and genuine smile. 

**Author's Note:**

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> I couldn't help it. I said it would be a slow burn. And it's gonna be a slow burn. At least I've written all but half of one installment now, so you don't have to worry about me disappearing for months again....
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> Come talk to me about it on [tumblr](http://awww-brain-no.tumblr.com)


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